It it wasn’t a “demoralizing loss.” Michigan State softened the blow by losing at home as a double-digit favorite against Nebraska. The Wolverines and Spartans are still side-by-side in first place at 10-3 in Big Ten play.

No, Sunday's loss wasn’t any those. Sunday was something else.

For Michigan, Sunday was a disappointing loss. And like a brooding parent saying, "I'm not mad, I'm disappointed," that can be so much worse.

This was one of those losses that will fester. U-M came out flat and was walked over. All the Wolverines had to do was show up sharper mentally and harder physically, and Sunday could have been a whole different day.

The first 10 minutes made this loss different than the six that came before it.

And because of that, maybe a new side of this Michigan team could emerge.

An angry side.

Through all the revolutions and evolutions of this 2013-14 season, Michigan has suffered through injuries, lost a few close games, overcome a diminished roster and survived the growing pains of youth. The Wolverines have done it mostly in a style befitting their becalmed head coach.

Those other losses, they all came with caveats.

The first, at Iowa State, came at jam-packed, ear-drum-busting Hilton Coliseum in Mitch McGary’s first game back from injury.

A late November loss to Charlotte in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off was overshadowed by injuries suffered by Stauskas and Robinson in the game. At that point, those two banged up starters, coupled with McGary’s slow return to form, were a bigger story than any single result.

A loss at Duke was, well, a loss at Duke.

A loss to No. 1 Arizona was, well, a loss to No. 1 Arizona.

A loss at Indiana two weeks ago ended an 8-0 start to Big Ten play and came with this accompanying admonishment: They were due.

A loss last weekend at Iowa came against a desperate team, powered by a lights-out performance (Devyn Marble) in front of a highly charged crowd.

Michigan had no answer for Wisconsin forward Frank Kaminsky, who finished Sunday with 25 points on 11-for-16 shooting and 11 rebounds. Patrick Record | The Ann Arbor News

Then came Sunday.

Sunday was a game that Michigan lost as much as Wisconsin won. That’s happened before (Charlotte, Indiana), but not at Crisler Center. This performance -- this flat, stumble-out-of-the-gates showing -- came at home.

Michigan was held a season-low 19 first-half points on seven field goals. It committed seven first-half turnovers, most of which were unforced. It was dominated by Wisconsin big man Frank Kaminsky (25 points, 11 rebounds) all day. It surrendered a 10-2 run after trimming the Badgers’ lead to 52-49 with 6:16 remaining.

While the losses to Charlotte and Indiana are worse on paper, the loss to Wisconsin might be more frustrating.

That’s worth being mad about.

“It was one of those games where you bury yourself and you’re going to have to have to play a super second half,” Beilein said. “I thought we played much better, but not good enough.”

With that, Michigan is out of action until next Sunday. This week marks the Wolverines’ longest break since Christmas, when six days separated games between Stanford and Holy Cross.

It will be a long buildup to a first-place showdown with Michigan State. Michigan will use the initial stages of that time to review to the loss to Wisconsin. Then it will move forward.

The team might be wise, though, to take a piece of the Wisconsin loss with it. No one has seen these Wolverines play “angry” yet.

Is there any better time for that than next weekend?

Brendan F. Quinn covers University of Michigan basketball. Follow him on Twitter for the latest on Wolverines hoops. He can be contacted at bquinn@mlive.com